As a young boy, I was told that the United States was a melting pot. It's a belief that diverse cultures and ethnicities can come together to form the rich fabric of a unified nation. The philosopher and educator John Dewey popularized “cultural populism “ in the late 40s while I attended elementary and junior high school. This melting pot belief suggests that a heterogeneous society can become more homogeneous when different elements appear to melt together irrespective of various foreigners with their different cultural backgrounds. If we become a harmonious society, then we have cultural amalgamation. Although there has been assimilation in this country, we have significant political, social, economic, educational, religious and ethnic differences or the psychology of man which interfere with creating a cultural amalgamation.
A melting pot metaphor was employed to idealize the mythology related to the initial immigration and colonization. In 1782, J. Hector St. John de Crevecoer wrote, "What then is the American, this new man?" The American is one who "leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life. He has embraced the government, he obeys the new rank he holds. He becomes an American by being received in the broad lamp of her great Alma Mater… All nations are melted into a new race of men whose labors and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world." His statements are a fallacy and illusion and have no factual basis either in the past or current climate in our country.
I was taught in school that our country was a melting pot. Yet, at home during my upbringing, I experienced a different reality. Residing on the eastside of Detroit while attending Wayne Elementary ,Jackson Junior High and Denby High School, I was different . I was Jewish and my friends weren't. Besides, they celebrated Christmas while I did not .In school the songs we sang were about Christmas , I overheard statements negative and positive like " That person jewed you ;Lieb the Heb from friend Maylon and Mitch, one of the co captains of the football team in the middle of the field prior to the game with Southeastern said,” We are going to win this game for Frank for Rosh Hashanah ."
Dad, President of the Denby Dad’s Club, was also an undefeated union president in the United States Post Office for over 20 years. In fact, he fought against discrimination during his reign. Black and brown associates and friends frequented our home discussing policies and programs to combat prejudice and discrimination. At one of his retirement dinners, I heard about his accomplishments, policies and programs that he fought for like healthcare, pensions, working conditions, protection against animals etc. In fact, I have a picture of dad with the Michigan Gov. Frank Fitzgerald signed the Dog Bite Law protecting mailmen from vicious dogs. Also, there's a picture with JFK when he was in Detroit on Labor Day giving a speech. In any event, the political and economic reality at home was not a melting pot. My father was falsely accused, by an anonymous source, of being a communist. The “evidence” against dad was that Jim, his friend's wife, was at one time a member of a communist group. Jim was fired from his government job and moved his family to Canada. Further, dad told me to work with my brain, not my back and get an education because that can't be taken . As a result of parental influences, I taught at the public, college and at the university level and assisted people with mental health issues. I clearly see the illusion in the melting pot mythology. Dad, you've shown me the path, You accomplished so much in your union leadership role . I ‘m thankful for your insights, wisdom and modeling regarding your integrity as that gave meaning to your life. By the way, dad met FDR and that's why I am named Franklin Dale .
This country was founded economically largely based on slavery as an important component of profit. Blacks and their culture were not even allowed membership in the melting pot. No, Blacks have been portrayed as being ignorant, immoral and 3/5 of a wealthy hedonistic white man.
Indians have been called primitive and savage by wealthy white men. Briefly, Zuni Indians have spiritual and religious beliefs that remind the person of the values that might help him or her live in a more harmonious and reverent way. Zuni's had shamans or priests that offered prayers and gratitude that related to a new season, a drought, a birth, an illness, a death, the education of Young Hunter, a marriage, or any number of other events in which an older order was being replaced by a new one.
These priests offered help in identifying hunting trails, they called forth the powers of the master Hunter and made the first preliminary efforts to communicate with the spirit of the hunter’s prey. Shamans began to understand the importance of living in peace, honoring the earth and living in harmony with nature. For example, according to one Zuni named Awahakeewah ``To find the center and live in balance, you've got to jump out of your skin. Look at the world through the eyes of the soaring Eagle and the blind eyes of the burrowing Mole." These Indians did not take over the land of the whites; without justification kill defenseless women and children; destroy their ability to hunt; rape the land ;polute the waters nor break treaties. The primitives and savages are who? “Zuni Fetishes' ' ,Hal Zina Bennett.
In 1914, the Colorado National Guard killed 11 children while defending a Rockefeller coal mine from workers. Also, German-speaking Americans were persecuted with public burnings of German songbooks and the German language was banned in many schools. In 1917, Woodrow Wilson and his administration whipped up anti-German hysteria and made the world "safe for democracy." Wilson's enemies were American socialists because they publicly opposed entering a war in which they would kill fellow working men on the behalf of the ruling classes. Socialist were terrorized and unions were demonized. Even J. Edgar Hoover conducted raids on these radicals. "Extreme Measures, the New York Times, October 9, 2022.
In 1924 the Immigration Act limited the number of immigrants entering the United States by a national origins quota. The quota limited immigration visas to 2% of the total number of people of each nationality ,in the United States, per the 1890 national census. This was a legislative expression of xenophobia, particularly towards eastern and southern European immigrants. It also prevented immigration from Asia as well. Specifically, the act prevented any person, ineligible for citizenship, from formalizing citizenship. In other words, the existing laws prohibited Asian immigrants from becoming natural citizens.. It also limited the number of Mexican immigrants called aliens to 164,667 annually. This restricted policy stayed in effect until the 1960s.
In the 1930s and 1940s, a number of high-ranking government officials and celebrities like anti-semites Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh and racist Father Coughlin spoke out against the Jewish people in the United States. In fact, there was an advocacy for teaming up with Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime. The restricted immigration policy affected many Jews attempting to flee Hitler's slaughter and migrate to the United States. Instead, some Jews found safe havens in Palestine, England and other countries. The United States, during that time, was not a melting pot for Jewish refugees. Not to be forgotten, American Japanese or Japanese-Americans were taken from their homes, displaced and placed in internment camps in various parts of the country. The Japanese were not part of the melting pot either. Furthermore, Stanford University President. recently apologized for its 1950s policies for admission quotas for Jewish students. The president said, "this appalling anti-semetic activity was damaging and went unacknowledged for too long.'' Add Stanford to Harvard, Yale, and Dartmouth for their limited Jewish enrollment in the 20s through 1960s. Stanford maintained its white Anglo-Saxon safe haven image for that melting pot . Article found in October 16, 2022 the New York Times.
The movie "Salt of the Earth" was the only movie blacklisted because of anti communist mythology. This movie portrayed Mexican Americans working in the New Mexico mines of wealthy whites. Aside from the horrible working conditions, they did not have indoor bathrooms nor hot indoor running water compared to the white mine workers nearby. Anyway, they began to strike and then the Taft-Hartley law worked against the striking union. So the women struck in their place. Forming a union and striking was a communist idea and bad ?
Recently, a Harvard professor evaluated about 3000 American history textbooks, dating from 1800 to the 1980s. A reminder that each state has its own curriculum guidelines and there's about 13,000 school districts making decisions on textbooks as well as individual teachers. With that in mind , some of his findings found in these textbooks from all parts of the country were as follows: 1. Ideology regarding slavery existed alongside strong beliefs about abolition and preserving the union that tied the survival of Republic itself to the idea of America as a white nation. 2. Christian Evangelicalts wanted free black people sent back to Africa ;and some white feminists argued for suffrage by saying white women were morally and intellectually superior to the recently emancipated black men 3. The myth that reconstruction failed not because of violent white resistance, but because black people were not competent to participate in democracy. 4. After the Civil War, with the celebration of the union victory marked the end of slavery. 5. An absurd idea of polygenesis, which held that black and white people were separate species and Slavery being a natural state for the lower black order 6. The myth that enslaved people ,liberated by the Union Army, clung to their masters rather than embrace freedom 7. Conditions of slavery were no worse than that of some employees in the mills and factories in the north 8. Slaves were living in comfortable cabins with plenty of nourishing food and spending their evenings singing around campfires 8. The United Daughters of the Confederacy, still alive, placed positive books about the KKK in Southern schools 9. Slavery was only about the past and no use to get worked up about it now. “ Taught to Hate “,The New York Times.
Today hate crimes are on the rise, especially against Asian and Jewish citizenry. There’s a Republican attempt to limit and make it very difficult to vote, especially if one is black and resides in a Confederate state. We have Republican election deniers per 2020 presidential election on the ballot in many areas as well. We have increased armed white hate groups. We have high crime rates in Confederate states per ratio of population. We had Supreme Court ruling on banning abortion, primarily against black women. Where’s the melting pot ?
Our country was never a melting pot, and man cannot be grouped totally homogeneously. First, man does not like man. For example, man's drives, needs and his society interfere with man's giving and liking , regardless of what the prophets of old taught. Love thy neighbor and love thy enemy are illusions in mythology. For example, human ego needs, such as abasement, achievement, aggression, counteraction, defendance, dominance ,sex and rejection are just some of the needs that interfere with man getting along with man. Additionally, irrationality, defense mechanisms assist man in his survival, but often to the extent of hurting or going against somebody else. The hazards of nature, political, social, education, economic, and religious differences also get in the way of man liking fellow man.
All men are anxious or afraid and require some rational or irrational form of protection to ward off dangers of living. Psychologically, insecurity propels man to identify with a person , a rational or irrational idea or supernatural protector. Dangers and hazards of living in civilization increase the fear and danger which is exploited by politicians and religious leaders. It's not so surprising that a great number of the population identify and submit to a protector, regardless or irrespective of that leader's cognitive capacity, narcissism or morality deficits. The leader or Pied Piper scapegoats , blames , manipulates and calls them evil . Hate, a negative emotion, becomes easily aroused as the followers blindly follow the leader. Yes, leaders have authoritarian characteristics. Moses was questioned as his followers rebelled under Joshua and built and made idols; and eventually Moses was killed before reaching the promised land. Bo Schembechler, Michigan's new football coach at the time, told his players ``it's my way or the highway and don’t let the door hit you in the ass when leaving."
Fear of others begins at 6 to 9 months and lasts forever. Stranger anxiety surfaces as that infant fears another or unfamiliar face. Yes, a large number of people become somewhat homogeneous under certain conditions. Football coaches work hard to bring harmony and cohesiveness with their players. Social psychology provides insights in understanding, bringing people together but is beyond the scope of this essay. Note, midterm elections are coming up and not everyone believes in democracy for everyone. One party believes in limited democracy, for only them and if they don't like the election results ,they talk about changing the results. There is not enough liquefying heat to melt our psychological differences. If everyone melted, what’s left ? However, there are a number of different melting pots among capitalism, political, religious, economic, social, educational, governmental and ethnic beliefs. Just view your own.
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